WALKING AMONG THE STARS - Chambers, Michael

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Résumé :
If you liked The Thornbirds, you'll love this book! While jackaroo Tom Duncan is courting Bonnie Reid from Moomley Downs in the 1970's outback, he discovers hidden clues from the past; of the aboriginal Ngiyampaa people and their heritage of stories from ancient times. So what happened, when the early settlers, enticed by dreams of vast grazing lands, left the security of the great rivers, and finally approached the real arid outback? How were they greeted by the occupants? In a celebration of the Australian Outback, Michael Chambers draws on his own experiences, and a hundred and fifty years of his wife's family as graziers. He weaves the stories of the Ngiyampaa people, as recounted by his friend and their Elder, Roy Kennedy, into one epic tale, brimming with the sheer vastness and rugged beauty of the Outback. An historical novel of European settlement set in the arid Willandra and Mungo Lakes District of western New South Wales. But the real story begins long before that. Time passes. People come to the dry country, between the rivers; the first peoples, the Ngiyampaa mob. They learn to live where others could not. They find plenty, not poverty. They live there a long, long time, happy and content. Others come; Europeans, Afghans, Chinese, from across the world they come. The land changes. It no longer gives up its bush tucker. Many Ngiyampaa die. Some survive, and they learn to live with the settlers, as they had lived with the desert. They become many again. A town emerges from the dusty plains, phoenix-like, appearing from nowhere, shining brightly for a while. A story spanning twenty thousand years. Barak, the one-legged warrior, challenges Thylacoleo the feared Marsupial Lion; Mundawal, forced to leave his island home and the woman he loves. Beaufort Harris survives the battlefields of Crimea to vanquish the vast waterless Outback. Kathleen O'Hara travels the world to marry and founds a global dynasty. Billy Christmas, blackfella, searches for his culture and his heritage. Tom Duncan is a Jackaroo, from New Zealand. He transitions from youth to man. He learns hard work and values that will define his future. Suddenly, he finds love. The love of his life! These are stories of the Outback, of two peoples, one ancient, one modern. There is a Treaty; can either man understand what is promised? Can there be harmony? Here is a story of the ancient land: its fertility, its degradation, and its powers of recovery. And redemption.

Biographie:
Michael Chambers arrived by boat from New Zealand in 1969 and first worked as a jackaroo on the outback NSW station Mount Manara. His experiences over the next few years provided the background for the Tom Duncan adventure stories in his earlier books.A fight with a Brahman bull in western Queensland-which he decisively lost-led to a new career with BHP merchandising companies in NSW. In 1989, he packed his wife, five kids, and a dog into a truck and van and headed for the Northern Territory, where he served as State Operations Manager.A lifetime love of Aboriginal people culminated in a four-year relationship with the Yolgnu people of Arnhem Land, including taking a group of thirty Elcho Islanders on a memorable trip to Egypt and Israel. For fifteen years, he owned and ran the iconic NT fishing and camping shops, HAPPY MICKS TACKLE N TENTS -the name chosen by kids from the island. He was also a successful internet entrepreneur in the early years of the century.In 2010, the family moved to Mildura on the picturesque Murray River. Michael and his wife Aileen both retired at age seventy-she from over twenty-five years in aged and palliative care, he from a long stint in retail. Together they've raised five children and now enjoy eleven grandchildren.Drawing from decades of diverse experiences across Australia's landscapes and cultures, Michael writes most days, bringing a unique perspective to life's biggest questions....

Sommaire:
If you liked The Thornbirds, you'll love this book! While jackaroo Tom Duncan is courting Bonnie Reid from Moomley Downs in the 1970's outback, he discovers hidden clues from the past...